North Texas Food Bank paints the town orange for hunger action month

The North Texas Food Bank is teaming up with volunteers and local businesses in September to raise awareness about the one in six Texans who are at risk of hunger.

Hunger Action Month, the 30-day campaign to help end U.S. hunger, sheds light on the more than 50 million Americans who face hunger every day. As part of the campaign, the North Texas Food Bank will host a 24-hour food sort-a-thon on September 5 to help provide 65 million nutritious meals this year to North Texans.

The sort-a-thon includes hundreds of volunteers working in three-hour shifts throughout the day to sort and package fresh produce, meats and packaged goods for distribution.

Currently, nearly half a million residents of Dallas county, including 289,000 children, struggle to find the money to provide meals.

“September and the Hunger Action Month campaign will help us tell the story that every single person can make a difference in the life of a hungry child, a family who doesn't have enough to eat, and a senior citizen who has to choose between medicine and food,” North Texas Food Bank president and CEO Jan Pruitt said in a statement. “Now is the time for our community and leaders to take bold action.”

The food bank has also partnered with Omni Dallas hotel, One Arts Plaza, Dallas Zoo, Mockingbird Station, Shops at Legacy in Plano and Thanks-Giving Square to help “paint the town orange,” the color of hunger awareness.

The B and G letters around town, as part of the Convention and Visitors Bureau “Big Things Happen Here” campaign, will also be painted orange in September.